FG finally receives £4.2m Ibori loot

After weeks of delay, the federal government has finally received £4.2 million Ibori loot.

Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation, confirmed this in a statement, Dr Umar Gwandu, his media aide, issued on his behalf on Tuesday.

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Malami said the naira equivalent of the amount has been credited to the designated account of the federal government.

Malami had in March signed Memorandum of Understanding for the repatriation of the Ibori loot on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, which was followed by an announcement ceremony in Abuja attended by British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing and other officials.

The development, according to Malami, was a demonstration of the recognition of reputation Nigeria earns through records of management of recovered stolen funds in the execution of public oriented projects.

The government had announced the use of the funds for the completion of ongoing work on 2nd Niger Bridge, Abuja to Kano and Lagos Ibadan expressways, which were already being funded by the recovered $311m Abacha Loot III.

He had said the expenditure would be monitored by a reputable civil society organisation under the management of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

The government of Delta had protested that the money ought to be returned to the state.